Lord Billy's Diary

Letter to His Excellency, Gov Abadulrahman Abdulrazaq

 

With Billy Adedamola

Your Excellency sir, permit me to offer this rather belated
congratulations on your victory at the Guber poll and subsequent
swearing in as Executive Governor of Kwara State.
Your emergence, not unexpectedly drew divergent opinions and
interpretations. Its epochal nature made it so. A persuasive analysis
had it that the people did not vote for you or your party at the
polls, they simply voted out the old order. Personally Your
Excellency, I believe the ultimate winner is Allah and of course, the
good people of Kwara.  O To Ge victory was designed for divine purpose
hence the historic clean sweep. God is using the election results to
pass messages to both the winners and the losers.
Those who claim vindication over the victory are playing God. His ways
are shrouded in mystery. He alone knows His own ways. Your emergence
bears eloquent testimony to God’s design. Governorship was far from
your consideration, even before now, according to those close to you.
All you wanted was a seat at the upper chamber of the National
Assembly. But God apparently had other plans for you. And here you
are. This is the thrust of this letter: the divine assignment. You may
have come to this conclusion yourself and others too may have told
you. This is why you have to carry out this job as if your life
depends on it. Do it as if it’s your last job on earth. Pursue it with
the greatest fear of God in you. You are taking the mantle of
leadership at the critical period in the life of the state. This, no
doubt should be daunting to anyone.
Firstly, expectations of the people are unprecedentedly high. This is
fueled by the anti-old order sloganeering and propaganda which brought
you to power. Things were bad, no doubt and life was difficult for our
people.
Unfortunately, the economic downturn made things worse for the
Abdulfatah Ahmed-led government. But then, government is elected to
make life meaningful for the people. Period. Your Excellency, your
emergence attracts a messianic tune. People expect you to turn Kwara
into a state Eldorado within a short time. They want to start seeing
and feeling the NEXT LEVEL right from your first day in office. You
can’t blame them.
Patience has never been one of the attributes of a Nigerian. Your
Excellency comes across as a gentleman but cut a picture of
colourlessness that gives first impression of someone with little to
offer. Those who know you very well, however, say your perceived lack
of colour, slow-to-act and taciturnity belies strength of character
which has seen you building your multi-billion business empire. My
problem with you is your unpreparedness for the helmsman- ship of the
state. Of course, this is not peculiar to you. It is symptomatic of
Nigeria’s political leadership. And that has been the bane of
political development in our dear country.
Political office holders are usually hand-picked and imposed. This, however, should not signpost incompetency on the part of Your
Excellency. You can rise to this onerous task with God on your side,
taking Kwara to greater heights. But there are banana peels, traps, and
landmines planted by friends, foes, aides and even relations. Most of
those around you today shouted “Hosanna” with Bukola Saraki and turned
back to sing Nunc Dimittis after they felt he could no longer meet
their yearnings. It will come as no surprise when they do same to you.
It is even inevitable. The question is when? How long will the romance
last? Your way forward is to take the people as your priority. Do not
witch-hunt. You are elected governor of Kwara not that of APC. Treat
all as stakeholders and consult across board. Elections are over and
politics should take the back seat for now while focus should be on
well-being of the state and the people.
Uncompleted projects capable of impacting on the growth of the state
should be tackled. Ignore the parochial claims that such projects
belong to your predecessor. NO! They belong to the state and the
people. Kwara must come first to you if indeed you love this state
and people. Bukola Saraki, contrary to the mud being thrown at him,
loves this state and the people. He demonstrated this by his conduct
since the elections were won and lost in Kwara. I implore you to run
the government with open mind. The state is greater than any
individual. Many years after you may have gone, nobody will remember
who and what was responsible for your performance or
non-performance. They will remember you for good or for ill. The choice
is completely yours, Your Excellency. Yours alone.

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